Carson's cable and dish rates to go up

Lyn Vernazza, manager of the House of Drake, said whenever Charter Communications announces rate increases, she gets an influx of people wanting to switch to satellite TV.

Charter Communications, Northern Nevada's only cable television provider, recently announced a basic cable rate hike from 16 to 19 percent in Carson City, citing rising programming and operating costs. The basic cable package will increase to $14.70 from $12.34 starting Feb. 1.

Donna Lupkey, spokeswoman for Charter Communications, said although the percentage increase may sound like a lot, she said only about 5 percent of customers subscribe to the basic package.

"That makes it only an 8-cent-per-day increase per month," she said Friday. "And the bigger package you have, the less percentage increase it is."

But cable isn't the only thing on the rise. Customers of the two major dish providers can also anticipate rate hikes.

Robert Mercer, director of public relations for DirecTV, said starting March 1 its package rates will increase on the average of 4 percent.

"Our base package, which is called Total Choice, is now $39.99 a month," he said. "That will go up to $41.99 a month."

Mercer said the highest package will increase to $93.99 from $90.99. Only core programming packages will be affected. Premium services, such as HBO and the sports packages, will not be increased. He said the rate hikes will cover increased programming costs and the company's investment in new equipment.

DirecTV plans to launch two new satellites this year and another two in 2007, which is a $1 billion investment. The company will also open two new call centers.

Kelley Baca, spokesperson for Dish Network, said its price increase takes effect Feb. 1 and will average about 4.3 percent depending on the level of service a customer receives. She also cited increased programming costs.

Dish Network announced today that it will buy satellite assets for $200 million to enhance its existing service.

Liz Teixeira, assistant to City Manager Linda Ritter, said Carson City has been under the federal cap for basic cable service. Now Charter, which has a franchise agreement with the city, has increased the basic cable rate up as far as it can go by federal law. Carson City has authority over only the basic cable charge.

"It's no real surprise to me because they can and of course they did," she said about the increase.

Charter filed a petition for deregulation with the Federal Communications Commission in October. The FCC decides to deregulate a cable provider if it finds that satellite-TV competitors are penetrating the market at a rate of 15 percent or more.

Teixeira said the city has submitted a protest, but the FCC has not yet responded.

Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.